At a press conference with President Trump, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Thursday that his country was ready to put “boots on the field” in Ukraine because he and Trump said they had “a very good and good visit”.
Trump called Starmer as a “very hard negotiator”. Starmer, for his part, described his visit as “very good and very productive”, noting the family roots of Mr. Trump in Scotland.
The words of conciliation contrast with greater disagreements they have had, in particular on the war in Ukraine. Trump broke with many European allies and called Ukrainian President of Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator”, but refused to give the same label to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Starmer said the two were working to end the “barbaric” war in Ukraine, recognizing what Mr. Trump and his allies have largely ignored – that Russia is the aggressor.
“It cannot be peace that grants the attacker,” said Starmer, adding: “We agree that history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader.”
But in what is probably a concession to Mr. Trump, Starmer said that the United Kingdom would provide more help to Ukraine this year than in another year in the past, and will increase its defense expenses as part of its gross domestic product, also known as GDP.
Trump said he thought progress was made to end the Russian-Ukraine war, and that an agreement will be “either soon enough, or it will not be at all”.
Trump accepts the invitation to visit the United Kingdom in the “near future”
Trump said Thursday that he would visit the United Kingdom in the “near future” and had accepted an invitation to a state visit to King Charles.
“It’s a great honor to have Prime Minister Starmer in the oval office,” said Trump. “It is a very special place and it is a special man. And the United Kingdom is one-is a wonderful, it is a wonderful country that I know very well. I am very there. And I will go, I will go there and we expect to see ourselves in the near future. The two leaders underlined the “special relationship” between the two countries, forged during the Second World War.
Trump said that he and Starmer would discuss Russia and Ukraine, while the president asked for the end of the war when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. In a break with many European allies – including Great Britain – Mr. Trump called the same Ukrainian label Volodyr Zelenskyy.
“Did I say that?” Trump said, asked to repeat his characterization of Zelenskyy. “I can’t believe I said that. The next question.”
Starmer thanked Trump for changing the conversation on Ukraine, according to journalists from the room, and said he thought that a “historic agreement” can be concluded.
Mr. Trump, however, did not agree with a previous evaluation of Starmer that there is a risk that Putin could start Ukraine again after the conclusion of an agreement, saying that he trusts Putin to keep his word.
“No. I don’t think so,” Trump said. “I think when we have an agreement, it will be the agreement.”
“I think he will last,” said Trump, calling him a situation of “confidence and checks”.
“We had to go through the Russian hoax together, it was not a good thing,” said Trump, adding that he had known Putin for a long time.
Trump said they would see if there were parts of Ukraine taken by Russia which could be returned to Ukraine, although he did not specify where.
“There are many areas that have been taken,” said Trump. “Yes, we talked about it. Much of the sea line has been taken. And we will talk about it. And we will see if we can recover it, or recover a lot for Ukraine, if possible.”
Trump said the two will also discuss trade because he imposes new prices on allies and adversaries.
Starmer declared before the meeting that the United States and Great Britain “wanted to conclude a new partnership. We share the opinion that our best days await us.”
“Taking out a chainsaw is not quite my style, but we strip administrative formalities and bureaucracy,” he said, immediately taking a sweet blow on Musk while trying to call on Mr. Trump’s passion for a brought government. “We reform, let us allow, make the construction of things, reduce the obstacles to investment and growth, and we are open to business, open for investment, and we are determined to help us innovators to prosper in the United Kingdom.”
Starmer presented to the president a letter from King Charles, and Mr. Trump read it in real time. Trump called the British King as “a beautiful man and a wonderful man”.
Great Britain, the United States and collective security via NATO
Starmer did not arrive in Washington empty hand. He flew over the wings of an announcement a few days earlier than his government planned to pass British defense expenses of 2.3% current GDP by 2.5% by 2027, that his office presented the largest increase in sustained defense expenses in Great Britain in the Cold War. Starmer has left the possibility that defense expenses increase more, to 3%, after the next British general elections.
The time of the Prime Minister’s announcement was notable, just two days before his meeting with Mr. Trump. A White House official said before the meeting that the Trump administration was “very satisfied” with the Starmer’s announcement, but that she still wanted to see the US NATO allies increase more defense expenses, around 5% of their respective national GDP. It would be more, proportionately, than even the United States in defense, which in 2023 represented around 3.4% of the GDP in the United States.
Trump has suggested that the United States could break up with the NATO historic collective defense agreement, known as article 5, which essentially says that if a member is attacked, he will be treated as an attack on all, if other member countries did not increase their defense expenses.
“I think that means that there must be security guarantees,” said Starmer, recognizing the pressure for higher expenses, but also indicating that he will ask the White House to provide clear commitments to help defend Ukraine Against any future Russian attack if a ceasefire is reached to stop the war in progress. “I have indicated that we will play our full role. There must be support we, because otherwise I do not think that will dissuade Putin. We are working on it. I have in-depth discussions on this subject.”
A White House official said that the United States appreciated Starmer’s desire to consider sending British troops to help the peacekeeping effort to enforce a potential peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, but Trump clearly indicated that all security guarantees for Ukraine can come from Europe.
“I’m not going to make security guarantees beyond, a lot,” said Trump this week. “We are going to make Europe do this, because we are talking about, Europe is their neighbor Nextdoor, but we will make sure that everything is going well.”
American-British trade
Trump’s pricing threats were also the agenda at the White House meeting on Thursday. A 25% Price on all steel and aluminum Imported to the United States is expected to come into play on March 12, ordered by Mr. Trump, he said, to protect US companies. Starmer can request an exemption.
Mr. Trump Implicit weeks ago That a unilateral trade agreement can be worked with the United Kingdom if this does not happen, it is to be feared that some of the 40,000 British jobs estimated directly linked to the production of steel and aluminum can be lost and that whole plants could close.
After Starmer’s meeting with Trump, he should meet in London on Sunday several European leaders, notably the heads of state of Germany, Italy and Poland. Starmer will undoubtedly inform them of his discussions with the American president.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy could join them, after meeting Trump in Washington on Friday, where he should sign a financial agreement to share the mineral wealth of his country with Washington, that Trump called “reimbursement” for American aid to Ukraine in the past three years.
